Residents of one Minnesota community braced for days, anxiously awaiting representatives of the Westboro Baptist Church, whom promised to spread hateful messages.  On a day many expected to be filled with anger and hate, something spectacular happened.

It all began days ago with a press release by the Westboro Baptist Church letting the world know they were headed to Maple Grove, Minnesota.  Astonishingly, one of the finest schools in the state was their target.  If they replicated any of their previous protests, children would face undeniable hate.

However, the community of Maple Grove would not allow it!

Under 86 degree heat, hundreds of Minnesotans banded together to spread LOVE and KINDNESS.  The ground was covered in chalk art, filled with signs of peace and love.  As the clock hit 1:30PM CST, chants of equality broke out.  At one point, the crowd began to sing 'Lean on Me.'  Every time a car drove by and honked, the crowd erupted.  With profound joy, many in the Maple Grove community banded together to fight off this attack and hate.

We spoke to many enthusiastic people in the crowd, but perhaps Jessica from Maple Grove summed it up best:

We just want to make the world better.

The Westboro Baptist Church was not there at 1:30pm, 2:00pm, or 2:30pm.  Nobody knows why, however a search of their social media shows they did in fact make it, an hour early at approximately 12:30pm...when very few were there to see or notice.  Perhaps they forgot to update their clocks and spring forward?

 

Below are photos and some social media messages.


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